Back to December
by Charityx
Summary: December; a fun and joyful time for most, all except for one person... but why? An EgoShipping fic based on the song 'Back to December' by Taylor Swift.


Author's Note: Hello FanFiction!

I'm back, and this time, with another one shot. As most of you probably know, I've just finished my first main story, _Crazy Beautiful Life. _It was a fun and tough experience, but I got it done, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Moving on, this is an idea that's been in my head for quite a while now. I understand that it won't be everyone's cup of tea, as it's an EgoShipping fic; yes, that includes Gary and Misty, so if you're not a fan, I suggest that you turn away now. To me, EgoShipping is fun to write about, and I absolutely _love _Gary, hehehe! So that's why I like it. Also, it's probably the only other Misty ship that I can stand other than PokéShipping. If Misty were to end up with anyone truly, it would be Ash, but what's wrong with a cheeky little EgoShipping fic now and again, eh?

Anyway, based on the song _Back to December _by Taylor Swift, this story shows the feelings that Gary and Misty developed for each other while Ash was away travelling.

I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any of the characters used in this story!

Back to December

Eighteen-year-old Misty Waterflower sat at her kitchen table nervously. She stared blankly into the coffee she had just made, and stirred it with small motions, her breath moving away the steam that rose from it. Outside, the sky was a light yet dull shade of white, with outbreaks of silver scattered around the clouds and a faint tinge of coral pink could be seen in the distance. The trees were now bare, their dark, abstract branches standing out from the pale background. Light, fluffy snow now covered the ground in a thick layer, glistening as the sun rose higher into the sky. December was fast approaching, and while it was a joyful time for most, Misty couldn't help but hate the month.

As she started to ponder over past events, a faint knock at the door released her from her trance. She looked up instantly and stared at the door for a while. Then, swallowing hard, she slowly stood up from her seat at the table and reached for the handle. As she opened the door, she set her eyes upon one person that she hadn't seen in almost a year now; Gary Oak.

He looked at her cautiously with eyes that were hurt and dull. She pursed her lips slightly and breathed in deeply while opening the door further so that he could enter her home. As he walked past her, she looked at the floor in shame. She didn't realise that it would be so hard to look at him.

He walked over to the same kitchen table that she was situated at a few minutes ago and took a seat that was opposite from where she was sitting. His body language and aura made her feel isolated and awkward; not that that was a surprise, though. Biting her lip nervously, she picked up another cup of coffee that was on the kitchen side and placed it in front of him, waiting for his reaction. He continued not to look at her and took hold of the cup gently, slowly bringing it towards him.

Taking one more deep breath, she broke the awkward silence that was currently engulfing them.

"Thank you for visiting," she said quietly, looking at him intently. He looked up and nodded briefly before examining the coffee again. She furrowed her eyebrows in a disappointed sort of way. She was hoping that he would've answered her.

"How have you been?" she decided to ask, knowing that he'd _have _to give her an answer. She heard him sigh and he pushed the coffee away from him, leaning back in the chair.

"Not bad," he said bluntly, still refusing to look at her.

"That's good," she said, trying to think of something else to say. "How's life been keeping you?"

This time, he looked at her directly in the eyes.

"Good, actually," he replied, smiling for a brief second. "I've been busy, you know. With research and all that…"

"Of course," she said quickly, she too showing a brief smile. She then turned her gaze to the window and looked at the sky, pondering over the changing season.

"It's getting colder now," she said, watching the clouds slowly move across the sky. "It makes my job a bit easier," she joked, turning back around to look at him. He nodded once again and took a sip of coffee, turning his gaze to the same window that she was just looking out of.

"How's your family?" she asked, eager to hear how Professor Oak had been and Daisy, his sister. She hadn't seen them in a while; eleven months and three days, to be exact. And she hated to think why.

"They've been okay," he said. "Gramps is working hard as usual, and Daisy's just Daisy," he said, stifling a laugh at the last part of his sentence. Misty showed a faint smile; she'd grown extremely close to the Professor, and looked at him as a father-like figure, while Daisy had become the sister she never had. Her smile faltered as she started to think about past events, and why she and Gary were in this situation now.

She thought back to the very day that everything went bad; the day that she left Gary. She was going through a tough time because of the gym, and…

Actually, no… she took that back.

She was having a tough time because of that idiotic, goofy trainer she knew as Ash Ketchum. After years of being apart, he decided to turn up out of the blue and meet her at the gym… except, when he decided to do that, it wasn't exactly a good time to be frank.

She decided to go back to the very beginning.

It was a pretty average day at the gym; Daisy, Lily and Violet were away performing in shows, Trainers that had just started their Pokémon journeys were challenging Misty to battles, and the pool was spotless, as always… but then, someone unexpected turned up. And, you guessed it, that person was none other than Gary Oak. The Professor had asked him to drop a few things by to Misty, and when he did, she decided to invite him in to catch up. Besides, she hadn't seen him for at least four years. The last time she remembered seeing him was when she'd gone to a party the Professor had organised, and that was back when she was fourteen.

She'd always remembered Gary as Ash's rival, and that _wasn't _really a good memory. She knew how much Ash couldn't stand his taunts and attitude, and she didn't, either. And those stupid cheerleaders he always had following him around just added to the immaturity of what the boy held; yet, when he turned up that day at the gym, she was pleasantly surprised. He no longer had that arrogant, self-absorbed personality. Of course, he still managed to be cocky every now and again, cheekily throwing in a sarcastic comment that wound her up, but she liked that. He told her about his goal of becoming a Researcher, just like his grandfather, and she informed him of her duties of the gym… and that was where it all started.

She smiled to herself as she thought about the instant connection the two had felt that day. Drifting away from her thoughts, she was brought back to reality. She'd noticed Gary's eyes had glazed over as he stared at the table. She examined the young man in front of her and then, twiddling her fingers together out of anxiety, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Gary," she said simply, watching him look up at her slowly in surprise. She continued to look at him intently before continuing. "About that night…"

He shut his lips tight and brought his tongue to the front of his top teeth. He knew that today wasn't going to be easy, but he didn't expect it to be _this _hard.

"It's always on my mind," she added. "And, I realise that I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life, Gary. I just wish I'd realised what I had when we were together…"

"Misty…" he said, furrowing his eyebrows. It wasn't _just_ her that felt regret; he did, too. But for him, it was a different kind of regret. After she'd ended it, he couldn't bring himself to talk to her at all. He'd completely wiped her from his life, and today was the first time he'd spoken to her in months. _That _was what he regretted.

"I keep playing back the moment I left you," she continued, her eyes starting to tear up. He sat still, watching her every movement, eager to listen to what she had to say. "I was so stupid, not wanting to talk to you… Arceus, I didn't even call you on your birthday…"

"Misty, it's not just you," he said, quite agitated at how she was blaming herself for everything. Of course, a lot of it _was _her fault, but he had done his fair share too. "I could've easily made the effort to make amends, but I didn't, so stop blaming yourself."

She paused to think for a moment. She hadn't thought of things like that. All this time she had been blaming herself for why things were the way they were, yet she hadn't stopped to think about what _he'd_ done. She then found herself laughing, causing him to look at her awkwardly.

"Sorry, it's just… whenever I think about this, I manage to come onto the good times that we shared together."

And she did. She didn't know how, but somehow, whenever she thought about the moment she left Gary, her mind took her to a happier moment. The two had spent a lot of time in the summer together, as this was the time when their relationship really started to blossom. The two would go on random road trips in Gary's car, blaring out the music and singing as loud as they could. The lake by Cerulean City would be their personal area to hang out, and they'd always fight with each other playfully to see who could get who in the lake first.

"I remember the first time we kissed," Misty said, smiling bashfully. Gary smiled at this. He often thought about these moments himself, but knowing that Misty still thought about them too sent a warm feeling throughout his body.

He thought back to that day. The weather was miserable, and he'd _walked _to the gym. As soon as he got there, Misty started teasing him about how soaked he was, so, being the charming person he was, he grabbed her by the waist and chucked her into the pool. He still remembered her face so clearly; shocked, amused and revengeful. He jumped in after her and the two started splashing each other, laughing and joking around, and something caused them to stop. Gary looked at her intently, almost nervously, and slowly moved closer to her. She copied his actions and gently placed her hands onto his chest. Then, ever so simply, he kissed her. And, much to his delight, she returned the kiss.

"I fell in love with you, Gary," Misty said, interrupting him from his thoughts. He suddenly found that he was finding it extremely hard to talk. A lump in his throat had formed, and his eyes had started to sting slightly.

"But when the weather started to change, and… when-"

"Ash came back," Gary said bluntly, finishing her sentence. She frowned and bit her lip, not wanting to look him in the eyes. He was right, though; the warm weather passed, and soon, a chill spread across the Kanto region. And, unexpectedly, Ash had decided to return from his travels around the regions. If it was at any other time, Misty would've been over the moon, but this time around, she wished he'd never came back.

Why?

Because as soon as Ash came back, fear consumed her. She knew perfectly why, too. She feared that those stupid, meaningless feelings she had for him when she was younger would return, and that's exactly what had happened.

She remembered it so clearly. Out of nowhere, while she and Gary were hanging out at the gym, he just turned up. She still remembered that big, goober-like grin that was plastered across his face, and the moment it faltered as soon as he saw Gary with his arms wrapped around her waist. She stood still, utterly speechless at the boy in front of her, and waited for his response. He had brushed it off, walking up to her, but all she could do was remain silent.

"What are you doing here?" she remembered asking him, confusion filling her to the brim. He grinned widely, Pikachu on his shoulder.

"I haven't been back home in a while, and I'm here to stay before I'm off travelling again!" he had said, his face beaming. And, throughout this whole time, Gary remained silent, because he could feel it in Misty's embrace; her feelings had resurfaced.

Back to the present day, Misty noticed that Gary was now crying. She felt helpless, empty; so many words to describe the horrid, gut feeling that was currently consuming her.

"I miss you, Gary," she said, she too starting to cry. "You were so good to me, and whenever I'm with you, it always feels so right…"

He remained silent, but the look in his eyes told Misty that he wanted her to continue. Looking up to the ceiling, she sighed and shut her eyes for a moment, trying to find the strength to carry on.

"I still remember last year, around September, when you saw me cry for the first time," she said, smiling. He too smiled at this, remembering how one evening, she just burst into tears because she was struggling to cope at the gym on her own. She said how desperate she was to be out travelling again, but instead of Ash, she wanted Gary with her. That was the first time he'd saw Misty's weaker side, and that was the moment he truly felt something strong towards her.

"I wish that I could go back and change what I did, Gary, but I can't," she said regrettably. She stared at the table and her tears splashed onto the surface, creating a small pool of water.

"I still love you, Gary, and if we were to ever give it a go again, I know that I'd love you right this time," she said, closing her eyes as she brought her hands to her temples. "When Ash came back, I instantly starting thinking about when I was a kid, and how I felt around him, but soon after, I realised that those feelings weren't even real, Gary. It was a stupid, meaningless crush, and I had you, and whatever was going through my head was just the past playing up on me-"

"If you loved me so much, then why did you end it so easily?" he asked out of interest, cutting her from her sentence. It was something that he'd wanted to ask her for ages, and he was looking forward to hearing her answer.

"I was scared," she admitted, putting her hands back on the table. "I was scared of hurting you, of doing something wrong, of what people might think… I was confused about a lot of things, Gary, and it got to the point where I just couldn't put up with it anymore…"

He looked at her helplessly. She'd just explained everything to him, everything that he'd wanted to hear for months. He knew that he himself was scared at one moment too, pretty much because of everything she had just mentioned. Misty was his first proper relationship, and the first person he'd actually loved. Sure, he'd had girlfriends in the past, but they were nothing special to him. He'd fallen in love with Misty, because she was the only person that respected him for the person he was, not just his status.

"I still love you too," he said subtly, taking her hand in his across the table. She looked up at him in disbelief, her lips trembling. He swallowed hard, but then gave her a warm smile. "I can't imagine my life without you, Misty," he continued, stroking his thumb across her knuckles. She squeezed his hand in return, closing her eyes.

"I can't imagine mine without you," she said, almost a whisper, feeling the warmth of his hand on the coldness of her own. He set his gaze upon her and felt his stomach start to flip. What he was about to ask her was a risk, but he was positive that it was the right thing to do.

"Another shot?"

At first, she looked at him confusingly, processing the words that he'd just said, but a look of relief then washed over her and she nodded vigorously, more tears starting to fall.

He got up from his seat and walked towards her, kneeling down in front of her and wrapping his arms around her weak figure. She shakily returned the embrace, breathing in his scent. Her body relaxed, and she kissed him gently on the side of his head. Pulling out of the hug, he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her on the forehead, smiling as she wiped a tear away from her cheek.

Back to December would now be a distant memory, because they could finally move on and make things right again.

And no one was going to stand in their way.

. . .

A bittersweet one shot. I enjoyed writing this, as I could include how Misty and Gary managed to form a close relationship while Ash was away, which made things more realistic.

I hope you enjoyed it! Oh, and if some of you are wondering why I didn't include lyrics in the story is because I don't want to get reported as I don't officially have permission to use the song, ha.

Anyway, that's all from me for now.

Thanks!

Charityx


End file.
